I am looking to purchase new handlebars for my 07 YZ450f. im 6'2'' and im running the OEM bars. i think i would benifit from taller bars but my local shop says that i will lose turning ability and it wont feel comfortable while standing. any thoughts? never bought aftermarket bars before so this is new to me. was looking at renthal fatbar RC hiigh bend or maybe even fasst flexx 12* enduro high bars but there alot of money.  i ride motocross and woods . THANKS!!

i would look into the protaper windham/rm mid, they aren't quite as tall as rc high. I'm taller then you and am still comfortable standing with those bars. I haven't used rc high's but i did try pastrana fmx and they were too tall. I don't know how much they slowed me down, but they definitely decreased my confidence and increased my arm pump.

I'm 6'3" and I love my protaper Windham/rm mid bend. I also have the bars rolled forward just a bit and I was instantly comfortable with that set up on my bike for mx. I found that I ride a lot more relaxed with that bend them thr standard yz bend that came on the bike. Haven't tried the rc high bend though.

I like the Renthal RC high bend bars on my 2005 RM250. On my 2007 yz450f I like my pro taper windham bend bars. remember that the Renthal windhams are lower than the pro taper windhams.

When I bought my bike, the previous owner was a pro and he liked the pro taper low bars... I did find them really nice for cornering, but i did not feel comfortable standing up at all. I'm 6'0" and bought the renthal twinwall windham bend... i rolled them back to the 0.5 position, and they are perfect.

At first cornering felt different but I got used to them and I'm alot more comfortable standing/ in the air with the windhams. I'm sure a really tall FMX bend will affect cornering, but I think the Windhams are a good middle ground.

thanks guys for the input. but would a similar bend fasst flexx bar be worth the extra money?

The lower and more centered your bars are over the bar clamps the better the bike is going to corner as well as be more stable in the straight aways. So if you are tall you have two options:

1) Sacrifice a little bit of performance for instant "comfort"
2) Spend around 10 hours changing your riding technique to ride the bike like it is.

I chose the second option a couple of years ago and besides only taking a couple of weeks to adjust I am 100% comfortable on my bike and the ONLY complaint set up wise I have going to other peoples bikes is that they have their bars too rolled forward (end of bars being the high point on the bars.) Being "tall" isn't really an issue for me any more.

Unless you get a taller "average/regular" bar bend then I don't believe you will ever get comfortable with super high bars or even "tall bars" for that matter. You will always notice the effect of the bars and you still won't be quite comfortable. Besides, the taller the bars the closer they are too you. And if you rotate them forward to get them farther away from you, you are asking for handpump and armpump within 30 seconds.

Just so you guys know. I have been using the Universal Atlas bars OUTDOOR bend for over 3 years now. I have moved these bars across two bikes to keep using them and the throttle tube has nearly worn down the end of the handlebar they have gotten so much use. A lot of my taller friends ride my bike and can't understand how I ride it, but I am 100% comfortable on my bike because I took the time to suit my riding style around a "normal" setup.

Tha Breeze, on 15 July 2012 - 04:26 AM, said:

Can you elaborate this in more detail?

Tha Breeze, on 15 July 2012 - 04:26 AM, said:

I too ride a lot of people's bikes, mostly to test after servicing them. However, usually I'll test all of them in one swoop wearing my MX gear and since the shop is at the track, it makes life a whole lot easier. I've been able to adapt to pretty much any setup and can ride many bikes like mine. However, whenever I get off those bikes and onto mine (with the tall bars) I find I have WAY more leverage with the tall bars then with the lower bars. I get arm pump like crazy with lower bars, but with the higher bars, I honestly never get it anymore. I have a lot of adjustments available to me on the KTM and I still even prefer the bars to be super close to me so I can stretch out on the bike and stand up fully whilst still holding on. To me, I think that is the trick to finding the right bar. If you can stand up fully holding on to the bars AND can your butt can be on the tail whilst hanging on as well, then the bars are the right height for ya. Then its just a question of the bend and thats really personal preference.

Sadly, I don't know much on this subject because its something I have yet to study. My KTM's came with a bunch of different bar bends and I just found the one I like.

Edited by tye1138, 15 July 2012 - 09:09 AM.

I love Renthal 706's but am currently using the RC bend (not RC High).  The 706's cornered so so so sweet, but I would constantly bang my knees on them because they are so low. I wish a had another set, however.

I'm only 5'8" btw.

RC's are good too, but I think I liked my 706's better (02-04 RM Bend)

I just bought some protaper contour ktm/ factory Suzuki bend. Well let y'all know how they turn out!

If the bars are too high...it will mess up your arm position while sitting, and thus cornering.  If they are too low.....it will affect your range of motion.  I never really knew how to set up my bike...but it always felt good to me.  When I watched one of Gary's vids..he showed a simple trick to determine if your bar height is right.  Mine was right on the money.  No wonder it felt good.  Placement for and aft (rider compartment size) is more of a personal preference.  Watch Gary's Series 3 Vids...

Edited by Blutarsky, 28 July 2012 - 08:58 PM.

Just picture the high bars as to what "ape hangers" are to the Harley guys. To answer the stability or control question a bit. Maybe a little over the top explanation though.

Standing and the standing attack position are probably 2 different positions for the average weekend riders. Most of your faster riders have near a 90 degree bend with their chin (or chest even) over the bar pad, not the average vet guy's riding style especially one over 6' tall.

I know I know who am I to make statements like this............. Well my kid is fortunate enough to work with several pro riders here in our area and ride with them on many private tracks. The kid hasn't listened to me in years but it's no wonder why since he's riding amongst these guys. With the likes of Ferry, Chisolm, JT$, and a lot of help lately from Ricky Renner the kid is starting to put it together.

JBFL, on 05 August 2012 - 02:35 PM, said:

Whats a decent bar my man?  I am 6'1" and always used windham pro tapers and on KTMs I used a real straight KTM bend bar.  I am now using the stock Suzuki RMZ450 bar.  Seems lower for the attack position,

Mike you are everywhere.  I was wondering the same.  I want to try the Ktm hi on the rmz but I might be over this lack of sweep thing, and ride a more traditional bend.  Might do windhams again but it just sucks cause I have vinyl bar insert for bark busters on those.